Ofcom received 32 complaints about Plusnet per 100,000 customers, though the regulator said different methodologies meant Plusnet's performance in the quarter was comparable to EE’s.

TalkTalk’s complaints were numbered at 31 per 100,000 customers, dropping from 33 the previous quarter, despite its data breach in October, though the number was higher than the previous year’s total of 23 per 100,000.

Complaints about BT stood at 28 per 100,000 – a drop from 35 the previous quarter.

And it was Virgin Media and Sky who helped pull the industry average down for broadband, with just seven and six complaints per 100,000 customers respectively.

Landline, pay TV and mobile

While it didn’t top the table for broadband complaints, TalkTalk was the most complained-about landline provider, with 30 per 100,000, compared to an industry average of 15. This was followed by EE and Plusnet at 25, Post Office at 20 and BT at 19.

Again, Sky and Virgin Media were the least complained-about providers, with seven and five complaints per 100,000 customers.

Ofcom received fewer complaints, on average, for the pay TV sector, at four per 100,000 customers, down from five the previous quarter.

It received the most about BT, at 15 per 100,000, followed by TalkTalk with 14.

Complaints about Virgin Media stood at three per 100,000, while Sky was the least complained-about pay TV provider for the quarter, with just one complaint per 100,000 customers.

Mobile was the only sector to see a rise in the average number of complaints, up from nine per 100,000 the previous quarter to 10 per 100,000.

Vodafone was the most complained-about mobile provider, at 32 per 100,000 customers, rocketing from 20 per 100,000 the previous quarter and up from 15 per 100,000 in the same period in 2014. All other providers dipped under the industry average.

When it came to mobile, Ofcom received fewest complaints about Tesco, with just one complaint per 100,000 customers in the last quarter of 2015.